Barger warns LA County must make difficult choices as Deficit Deepens
Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger (R – Palmdale, Lancaster, Santa Clarita, San Marino, Pasadena, La Cañada Flintridge, portions of the San Gabriel Valley) responded last week to a sobering fiscal outlook briefing from Chief Executive Officer Joseph Nicchitta, signaling that the county will need to make hard decisions on fees and spending while protecting its most vulnerable residents.
Nicchitta’s presentation to the Board projected continued structural deficits heading into the 2026-27 fiscal year, with the county’s estimated excess fund balance now sitting at a negative $402 million as of March — a $90 million decline from the November estimate.
The county’s year-end fund balance has shrunk for three consecutive years, from $4.22 billion in 2024 to $3.26 billion this year, and Nicchitta’s office indicated the hiring freeze now in place will likely need to remain through the end of FY2026-27.
“Today’s report from Chief Executive Officer Joseph M. Nicchitta delivered a sobering assessment of Los Angeles County’s fiscal outlook, including projected budget deficits that are expected to grow in the years ahead,” said Barger. “I agree that our Board must make decisions grounded in discipline and long-term sustainability. I recognize that maintaining the County’s financial stability may require difficult steps, including ensuring that fees more accurately reflect the actual cost of services. However, we must move forward with an even hand. Small business owners, property owners, and working families are already facing significant economic pressures, and those realities must be part of our decision-making.”
Barger said she was committed to governing the County enterprise in a way that balances financial sustainability with the protection of the critical safety-net services that the most vulnerable residents rely upon.
The Board is scheduled to take up final budget adoption at a special meeting today.
Valladares Votes No on $355 Billion State Budget
State Sen. Suzette Martinez Valladares (R – Santa Clarita, Palmdale, Lancaster) voted against the Legislature’s $355 billion state budget last week, calling the spending plan an irresponsible expansion of government funded by more than $14 billion in new taxes that will hit working families, employers, and public safety programs hardest.
Valladares cited a series of specific cost impacts tied to the budget, including an estimated $1.5 billion increase in commercial health insurance costs translating to more than $400 per year for a family of four and over $10,000 annually for a business with 100 employees, new refinery supply requirements expected to raise gas prices, a new software tax affecting nearly every product and service purchased in the state.
“California does not have a revenue problem; it has a spending problem,” said Valladares. “This budget doubles state spending from just ten years ago. It raises taxes across the board and chooses pet projects over public safety and affordable living. Californians are already leaving this state in record numbers because they cannot afford to stay, and the majority’s answer is to take even more out of their pockets. Voting no was not a close call.”
Valladares said she authored three bills this session aimed at affordability — expanding medical expense deductions, increasing the child dependent tax credit, and requiring the California Air Resources Board to disclose the full cost of its regulations — all of which were rejected by the majority party.
“I will keep fighting for a budget that reflects what Californians actually need: lower costs, safe communities, and a government that lives within its means,” said Valladares. “The people of California deserve so much better than this.”
Kamlager-Dove Calls Trump’s Iran Conflict a “Failed War”
U.S. Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D, Los Angeles, Culver City, Inglewood), a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, issued a scathing statement last week on the outcome of the United States’ recent conflict with Iran, arguing that President Trump’s handling of the war left America weaker, poorer, and with thirteen service members dead for no lasting strategic gain.
Kamlager-Dove argued that the resolution Trump struck — described in her statement as granting Iran over $300 billion in sanctions relief and a temporary commitment to keep the Strait of Hormuz toll-free in exchange for an informal pledge not to pursue nuclear weapons — amounted to a capitulation dressed up as a victory.
“Donald Trump’s arrogance and ignorance led to one of the worst foreign policy decisions of my lifetime,” said Kamlager-Dove. “He was so desperate to get out of his own disastrous, illegal war that he got played by the Iranians. What are we left with? Thirteen brave American servicemembers dead. An estimated $100 billion in tax dollars wasted. Allies are less trusting of our word, and our assets in the region are depleted.”
Kamlager-Dove tied the foreign policy episode directly to domestic economic conditions, arguing that Americans are still confronting rising costs for gas, food, housing, and health care while the administration has yet to articulate a reconstruction plan.
“While I’m grateful that the fighting may cease and our troops will no longer suffer from Trump and Hegseth’s incompetence, it’s clear that Trump was more worried about his poll numbers than protecting American interests,” said Kamlager-Dove.
Friedman Convenes LGBTQ+ Advisory Committee
U.S. Rep. Laura Friedman (D-Burbank, Glendale, Pasadena) convened the second meeting of her LGBTQ+ Advisory Committee last week, bringing together local leaders to discuss the Trump administration’s continued targeting of the LGBTQ+ community and to update them on her legislative response.
Friedman has built a record on the issue, including pressuring the Trump administration last June to restore more than $19 million in HIV prevention grants for Los Angeles clinics after the funding was threatened. She has also opposed the elimination of gender-affirming care, restrictive passport gender markers, and the ban on transgender military service members, and is a cosponsor of legislation including the Equality Act, the Fair and Equal Housing Act, the Pride in Mental Health Act, and the Elder Pride Protection Act.
“This administration has not let up in its efforts to scapegoat and attack our LGBTQ friends and communities in an attempt to distract from their utter policy failures,” said Friedman. “Throughout it all, I’ve never broken ranks with our LGBTQ neighbors. I will continue to hold the line and drive back future attacks on the lives and rights of LGBTQ Angelenos.”
The committee meeting gave local leaders a direct channel to raise concerns with Friedman’s office as she continues shaping her legislative agenda heading into the second half of the year, with Pride Month providing the immediate backdrop for the gathering.
